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Online casinos experienced a positive ray of light during the storm of the Kentucky domain name case.  The Kentucky Court of Appeals a stay of forfeiture hearing.  The official date set for forfeiture was December 3, 2008.  The stay means attorneys opposing the order will be able to present arguments against the decision without the seizure actually taking place.   

The stay was necessary for the security of the online casinos being threatened with seizure.  Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association was very active in securing the stay of forfeiture for fear that some damage would be irreparable if the seizure were allow to take place while the case was still being contested.  “Once you squeeze the toothpaste from the tube, it's not really possible to put it back in,” said Ed Leyden of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association general counsel.

In addition, the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association filed a petition to overturn the decision of circuit court Judge Thomas Wingate to allow the forfeitures to take place.
 
“We’re pleased that the Court of Appeals has given us the opportunity to challenge these seizures,” said IMEGA chairman Joe Brennan, Jr.

“The commonwealth has tried to take these domains for their own financial gain, violating Kentucky law, exceeding their jurisdiction, and setting a terrible precedent in the process.”

“Kentucky is opening the door for any government - state and local, foreign and domestic - to use what amounts to blackmail to achieve its ends,” continued Brennan.  

“If this precedent is allowed to stand, it’s not hard to imagine a government like China utilizing this kind of seizure power to prevent free media, like the New York Times, from reaching their citizens.”

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